Overview

Your succession plan is not about us

We acquire businesses and become directly involved in helping them to achieve their long-term potential. Our primary responsibility is to provide continued opportunities for employees and value to customers. Building businesses is what we love to do, but it’s not about us.

It’s about you

We tailor each transaction and succession strategy around a business owner’s personal and financial needs. We understand that you are looking for the smoothest and easiest transaction possible. We pride ourselves on closing quickly and painlessly.

It’s about building your business

Whether we are providing additional support through an ownership transition or providing additional management to realize additional growth, we bring whatever resources are necessary to build for the long-term.

Woodlawn Partners closes deals quickly and reliably: 12 acquisitions since 2010 and 4 in the last twelve months.

Woodlawn Partners closes deals. With 12 transactions since inception and 4 deals in in the last twelve months, we can move expeditiously.

Values

As business owners and employers, we feel a responsibility to build organizations with lasting value.

People

The heart of any business is its people. The most enduring competitive advantage is a team that is engaged, focused, and driven toward a common goal.

Respect

We respect entrepreneurial leaders who have created tremendous value. We understand that it is difficult to delegate or disengage. We want to make sure you’re comfortable when it is time to build around you, redefine your role, and create a thoughtful transition to the next stage.

Long-term

We do not have a fixed investment horizon or any external time restrictions. We do not demand a fixed timeline for an owner’s departure. Building for the long-term requires patience, collaboration, and flexibility.

Honesty

We do what we say. We want to build open and honest partnerships with you and your people.

Hands-on

We want to be contributing members of the team, and that includes taking the time to develop personal relationships and getting our hands dirty. It doesn’t mean that we elbow our way into situations when it’s not in the long-term best interest of the team.

Entrepreneurial

We believe in the power of the entrepreneurial spirit. We do not want to stifle that as we grow the business. To the contrary, we want to harness it and spread it throughout an organization.

Customer-centric

To remain relevant in an ever-changing world, we think that a business, and every one of its employees, needs to ruthlessly focused on the needs of their customers.

We are not flippers, consolidators, or cost-cutters. We want your business and your team to survive and thrive for the long run.

We are not flippers, consolidators, or cost-cutters. We want your business and your team to survive and thrive for the long run.

Criteria

Successful transition planning is more than a numbers game

We are focused on finding the right personal, professional, and philosophical fit with our investment partners. We are just as comfortable in stable businesses that need guidance through transition as we are in those that need additional daily management and intensive support.

Business-building experience across a range of industries

Our unique expertise is in managing succession strategies and building businesses that can endure for the long-term. We have found that the same core principles and practices apply regardless of whether a business provides a service or manufactures a product, competes in a mature or growing industry, and has a complete team or obvious deficiencies.